Waverley Station covered in novel quotes to mark anniversary - BBC News BBC News Waverley Station covered in novel quotes to mark anniversary 14 October 2014 Close share panel Image caption Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley book Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley at the railway station named after the novel. Waverley Station has been decorated with quotes from Sir Walter's writings to mark the 1814 publication. Waverley is regarded as the western world's first historical novel. About 25,000 copies of a book telling the story of the author's life will also be handed out as part of the Great Scott! campaign. Network Rail station manager Juliet Donnachie said: "As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. "Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it's appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland's capital continues to acknowledge his influence.

"Waverley Station is steeped in history - it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir Walter would like that." Waverley was the first novel of Sir Walter (1771-1832) who also penned the classics Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian and Ivanhoe. Star Wars The story follows the adventures of Englishman Edward Waverley in 1745 Scotland, where he becomes involved in the Jacobite rebellion and the attempt to restore the Stuart kings to the British throne. In the first year of its publication Waverley sold more copies than all other novels issued in the UK that year in total. Douglas McNaughton, manager of the Great Scott! campaign, said: "By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of Thrones series. "Waverley isn't a boring, dusty old story - it's essentially an action movie.

The naive young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That's basically the plot of Star Wars. "And Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott's readers as the Second World War is to us now." The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh's designation as the world's first Unesco City of Literature. Quotes from Sir Walter have been written across the floors and walkways of Waverley Station, including the famous line: "O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive." Copies of the book will be available at the station in October and November while stocks last.: Waverley station pays tribute to Sir Walter Scott (From HeraldScotland) Jobs Business Directory Local Info Dating Buy Sell Book an Ad Waverley station pays tribute to Sir Walter Scott Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley at the railway station named in the novel's honour.

Waverley Station is being decorated with quotes from Sir Walter's writings to mark the 1814 publication of what is commonly regarded as the western world's first historical novel. Around 25,000 copies of a book telling the story of the author's life will also be handed out as part of the Great Scott! campaign. Loading article content Network Rail station manager Juliet Donnachie said: "As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. "Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it's appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland's capital continues to acknowledge his influence. "Waverley Station is steeped in history - it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir Walter would like that." Waverley was the first novel of Sir Walter (1771-1832) who also penned the classics Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian and Ivanhoe.

The story follows the adventures of Englishman Edward Waverley in 1745 Scotland, where he becomes involved in the Jacobite rebellion and the attempt to restore the Stuart kings to the British throne. In the first year of its publication Waverley sold more copies than all other novels issued in the UK that year in total. Douglas McNaughton, manager of the Great Scott! campaign, said: "By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of Thrones series. "Waverley isn't a boring, dusty old story - it's essentially an action movie. The naive young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That's basically the plot of Star Wars. "And Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory.

The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott's readers as the Second World War is to us now." The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh's designation as the world's first Unesco City of Literature. Quotes from Sir Walter will be written across the floors and walkways of Waverley Station, including the famous line: O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive. Copies of the book will be available at the station in October and November while stocks last. VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said the publication of Scott's poem The Lady Of The Lake in 1810 led to thousands of tourists flocking to the Trossachs. He said: "The majestic picture of Scotland's stunning landscapes that Sir Walter Scott painted with The Lady Of The Lake was a watershed for Scotland. The readers of the poem who were inspired to come here were among the first tourists anywhere in the world and, more than 200 years on, people are still coming here to take in our incredible vistas. "We are delighted to lend our support to the Great Scott!

campaign, which is a fitting celebration of Sir Walter's work." Celebrations to mark 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Celebrations to mark 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley STV Share via Whatsapp Waverley Station, named after the novel, is being decorated with quotes from the author's writing. Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley at the railway station named in the novel's honour. Waverley Station is being decorated with quotes from Sir Walter's writings to mark the 1814 publication of what is commonly regarded as the western world's first historical novel. Around 25,000 copies of a book telling the story of the author's life will also be handed out as part of the Great Scott! campaign. Juliet Donnachie, Network Rail station manager, said: "As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. "Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it's appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland's capital continues to acknowledge his influence.

"Waverley Station is steeped in history - it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir Walter would like that." Waverley was the first novel of Sir Walter who also penned the classics Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian and Ivanhoe. The story follows the adventures of Englishman Edward Waverley in 1745 Scotland, where he becomes involved in the Jacobite rebellion and the attempt to restore the Stuart kings to the British throne. In the first year of its publication Waverley sold more copies than all other novels issued in the UK that year in total. Douglas McNaughton, manager of the Great Scott! campaign, said: "By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of Thrones series. "Waverley isn't a boring, dusty old story - it's essentially an action movie. The naive young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape.

That's basically the plot of Star Wars. "And Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott's readers as the Second World War is to us now." The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh's designation as the world's first Unesco City of Literature. Quotes from Sir Walter will be written across the floors and walkways of Waverley Station, including the famous line: O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive. Copies of the book will be available at the station in October and November while stocks last. VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said the publication of Scott's poem The Lady Of The Lake in 1810 led to thousands of tourists flocking to the Trossachs. He said: "The majestic picture of Scotland's stunning landscapes that Sir Walter Scott painted with The Lady Of The Lake was a watershed for Scotland. The readers of the poem who were inspired to come here were among the first tourists anywhere in the world and, more than 200 years on, people are still coming here to take in our incredible vistas.

"We are delighted to lend our support to the Great Scott! campaign, which is a fitting celebration of Sir Walter's work." Download: The STV News app is Scotland's favourite and is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from Google Play . Download it today and continue to enjoy STV News wherever you are. Join in: For debate, chat, comment and more, join our communities on the STV News Facebook page or follow @STVNews on Twitter . Updates: Would you like STV’s latest news update in your inbox every morning? Choose from our range of regular e-newsletters here Share this article By continuing you agree to our Terms of Use , including our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy . Any issues contact us . Upload Profile Picture Close Please make sure your image is under 2mb in size and a valid JPG, PNG or GIF. Select file Are you sure? Close Unfortunately, you'll be unable to access our premium content. We’ll be sorry to see you go, but if you change your mind you can rejoin us at any time. Cancel Please verify your STV account Close Please verify your STV account using the email we sent you.

If you have lost the email, we can send you another one, just click the button below. Thanks We've sent you a new verification email. Please check your email and follow the instructions to verify your account. Close This field is required. That doesn't look like a valid e-mail format, please check. Location Please tick this box to confirm that you are a resident of the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. This field is required. Parental Consent Please tick this box to confirm that you have received consent from a parent or guardian in order to complete this form and submit your vote. This field is required. That's you. All that's left is to click the 'Submit Vote' button below. By doing so, you confirm that you and your parent or guardian have read and accept our Voting Terms of Use , Privacy Policy and Cookie policy , and that the details you have entered are correct. We'll look after them as carefully as if they were our own.

City of Scott, Welsh and Rowling lays claim to the world's literary crown | UK news | The Guardian City of Scott, Welsh and Rowling lays claim to the world's literary crown Edinburgh's bid brings derision from London and Dublin Share on Messenger Close It is the city of the three Ss - Scott, Stevenson and the acid Muriel Spark, and home to the world's best-selling living writer in JK Rowling. But now Edinburgh is making an audacious - and as some see it, a bare-faced grab - to become the world's first official City of Literature. The town in which Miss Jean Brodie admonished her "gerls" on how "one's prime is elusive", and where the heroin addict Renton shoplifted to feed his habit in Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, is plotting to steal the honour from under the noses of London, New York, Paris, Dublin and Prague. The Scottish Arts Council, and the city's book festival, have been backed by such writers as Ian Rankin in lobbying the United Nation's cultural arm Unesco to make Edinburgh a pilot city of letters. Having come up with the idea, Edinburgh is confident it will be crowned first.

But even Scotland's most eminent living novelist, Alasdair Gray, the father of the Scottish literary renaissance of recent years, is highly sceptical of its merits. "Oh Lord no, not another bandwagon," the Glaswegian author declared last night. "I would have thought Dublin or, if we take the long view, Athens, would have had a stronger claim. Certainly, Edinburgh was a literary centre long before London, but we would have to go back to the 18th century for that. "I am not going to rage, 'It should have been us!' because Glasgow was the first City of Culture in Britain, and a fine lot of money was wasted on publicity and tourism schemes. I am sure that is why London doesn't want it." But for Iain Sinclair, the most London of writers and author of Lights Out Over the Territory, the capital has nothing to prove - unlike Edinburgh. "London is not merely a city of literature, it is literature itself. Good luck to them if they want it. It makes a change from being Britain's sex capital. "I suppose it is on a small enough scale that if you go back to the 1950s and 1960s, all the Edinburgh writers knew each other.

In London writers spend most of their time avoiding each other. Its writers are like 1960s gangs fighting each other for a slice of the action." It is too big and too unruly to be put under a single banner, he said. "Everyone hacks off their own bit, so you have books like [Monica Ali's] Brick Lane and [Martin Amis's] London Fields. Only Peter Ackroyd has had the hubris to call a book after the whole city." Tibor Fischer, whose new book Voyage to the End of the Room is set in one small flat in the capital, was equally unimpressed. "If they snook off to Unesco, then fair dues. It is true, Edinburgh's book festival has no equivalent in London and the written word still does not get the attention in London that it does in Scotland. But apart from Irvine Welsh, Edinburgh ain't had much lately. London, on the other hand, has more writers than it knows what to do with," the Booker-nominated author said. But according to Jenny Brown, the literary agent and former head of literature at the Scottish Arts Council who is among the plan's instigators, Auld Reekie simply oozes literary cred.

Sir Walter Scott was one of the inventors of the novel, Rabbie Burns lived and wrote there and Mark Roget, the compiler of the thesaurus studied in an Edinburgh charged with the ideas of the philosopher David Hume. Not to mention Thomas Carlyle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and, of course, JK Rowling, the new star in the Caledonian firmament. Jenny Brown said: "We are not saying that Edinburgh is 'the' world City of Literature - we would be delighted to share that title with all the great cities that have produced great art - but it should be the pilot city. Where else in the world do you arrive at a railway station named after a series of novels [Waverley], and the first thing you see when you step off the train is a huge monument to a writer, as Edinburgh built for Scott?" The international success of the books festival, the revival in Scottish writing and publishing - with this year's Booker Prize winner Life of Pi emanating from the Edinburgh-based imprint Canongate - was proof of the city's merit, she said. Across the Irish Sea, however, eyebrows have been raised.

Senator David Norris, a Joyce scholar and member of the Irish parliament's second house, argued that Dublin, which has four Nobel laureates to its name, was a better candidate. "I don't think it is helpful at all to set up literature on an almost league basis. We don't want this turning into a vulgar competition," he said. Edinburgh was home to some greats, Mr Norris conceded, but "it is pretty mean pickings compared to Dublin. Fair play to Edinburgh for the idea. I think it is marvellous. But look at Yeats, Swift, Heaney, Shaw, Wilde, Beckett, Goldsmith, Thackery, Sheridan and Synge. Scott did not write as intensively about Edinburgh as James Joyce did about Dublin, and Stevenson is really just an engaging minor writer by comparison." Meanwhile, the Edinburgh book festival, which is the biggest in the world, opens today with an plea from the Booker-prize winner Ben Okri for writers to hold political leaders to account in the face of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The novelist claimed there had been a "individual failure of responsibility" among writers to connect with events which were "too important to be left to journalists alone".

In a reference to the government's reasons for going to war in Iraq, Okri said: "We know when we are being messed with, in terms of information and our minds, but we pretend not to notice it. "Are we being slightly lazy and childish here? Are we sleepwalking through our own age? And is this really good for us? Surely, isn't it our job as citizens to raise the standards, to say what we will not accept?" Although the festival Fringe has a raft of plays which are critical of both Britain and the United States, Okri said writers are "more sleepy now" than they were in the past. "We used to take a lot less. It's a great cause for concern. The journalists have been on the case, but we have been failing in our responsibility a little bit." ‘Sir Walter Scott’ at Waverley Station | The Edinburgh Reporter ‘Sir Walter Scott’ at Waverley Station Share This Tags Books Edinburgh Edinburgh local news Edinburgh news Sir Walter Scott Transport UNESCO City of Literature Trust Waverley Station Great Scott!

– Sir Walter’s Words Around Waverley From today Edinburgh’s Waverley Station – the only railway station in the world named after a novel – will be awash with the wit and wisdom of the writer of that book, Sir Walter Scott. Scott’s Waverley, regarded as the world’s first historical novel, celebrates its 200th birthday this year and in a collaboration between Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and Network Rail, quotes from Scott’s books and the thoughts of the man himself will be written across the floors, windows and walkways of the station bringing Scott’s words alive for a new audience. Quotes will include: O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive! In literature as in love, courage is half the battle The campaign, developed by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, aims not only to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Waverley, but also to mark the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh’s designation as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. As part of this campaign, 25,000 copies of a free book – Great Scott! – will be given away in the station.

Telling the story of Scott’s incredible life, the pocket-book includes a timeline, quotes and musings and gives tips on things to see, read and do relating to Scott. The book and campaign celebrate the life and work of one of the world’s most famous writers who was a major celebrity in his time and continues to influence writers today including bestselling Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin. Ali Bowden, Director of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust said: “As a City of Literature we want to see books, words and ideas celebrated as widely as possible and Waverley station with its association to Scott and the anniversary is an ideal place. Most people know about Scott – the world’s tallest monument to a writer is the Scott Monument on Princes Street – but they might not know his books and we hope this campaign helps people discover the man and his words.” The Great Scott! Celebrating Sir Walter Scott book is only available in Waverley Station in October and November while stocks last, as well as online in audio form and as an ebook at cityofliterature.com/waverley. The pocket book is also available in a large print and Braille version.

The campaign will be supported by social media activity on #waverley200. The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is supporting the campaign with a strong Scott-theme in its Once Upon a Place programme which runs from Friday 24th October to Sunday 2nd November 2014 and there is a special free display of Scott’s work, featuring the original manuscript of Waverley, taking place at the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh and running until the 16th November. Juliet Donnachie, Network Rail’s station manager for Waverley, said: “As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it’s appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland’s capital continues to acknowledge his influence. Waverley Station is steeped in history – it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir Walter would like that. We’re very happy to be able to support this celebration of his work.” The Great Scott!

campaign manager, Dr Douglas McNaughton, said: “By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George R. R. Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of Thrones series. Waverley isn’t a boring, dusty old story – it’s essentially an action movie. The naïve young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That’s basically the plot of Star Wars! And Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott’s readers as the Second World War is to us now.” Commenting in response to the news, Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “As the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, Scotland’s Capital city is a genuine hub for all things to do with literature. This celebration to mark one of the city’s best-known writers can only go to reinforce that status further.

“Waverley station sits just a stone’s throw from the Scott Monument, which is the world’s largest monument dedicated to a writer. Just a few streets away in the New Town is Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms which is where, in 1827, Scott decided to reveal his identity as the ‘The Great Unknown’ author of the Waverley Novels. Homages to Sir Walter can be found throughout Edinburgh. In the Old Town you can learn about his life and works at the city’s Writers Museum, where visitors can see the printing press on which the Waverley Novels were produced, and a first edition of the Waverley novel. Just along the Royal Mile you will also find the Heart of Midlothian set in stone, so called after Scott’s novel of the same name.

“Arriving into Edinburgh’s Waverley Station is a special welcome for any visitor, with its enviable location right in the heart of the city, and I’m sure the installation of Scott’s quotes will provide a great starting point for exploring Scott’s legacy in the city, and will even serve to cheer up the weariest of commuters as they travel to and from the Capital.” Images from today’s event by John Preece Walter Scott :: English Language Poet :: English Poetry For other persons named Walter Scott, see Walter Scott (disambiguation). Raeburn's portrait of Sir Walter Scott in 1822. Portrait of Sir Walter Scott, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time. In some ways Scott was the first author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers all over Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and specifically, of Scottish literature.

Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley and The Heart of Midlothian. Contents 12 External links Early days Scott's childhood at Sandyknowe farm, seen across the lochan from Smailholm Tower, introduced him to the Borders. Born in College Wynd in the Old Town of Edinburgh in 1771, the son of a solicitor, the young Walter Scott survived a childhood bout of polio in 1773 that would leave him lame in his right leg for the rest of his life. To restore his health he was sent in that year to live in the rural Borders region at his grandparents' farm at Sandyknowe, adjacent to the ruin of Smailholm Tower, the earlier family home. Here he was taught to read by his aunt Jenny, and learned from her the speech patterns and many of the tales and legends which characterized much of his work. In January 1775 he returned to Edinburgh, and that summer went with his aunt Jenny to take spa treatment at Bath in England.

In the winter of 1776 he went back to Sandyknowe, with another attempt at a water cure being made at Prestonpans during the following summer,[1] In 1778 Scott returned to Edinburgh for private education to prepare him for school, and in October 1779 he began at the High School of Edinburgh. He was now well able to walk and explore the city as well as the surrounding countryside. His reading included chivalric romances, poems, history and travel books. He was given private tuition by James Mitchell in arithmetic and writing, and learned from him the history of the Kirk with emphasis on the Covenanters. After finishing school he was sent to stay for six months with his aunt Jenny in Kelso, attending the local Grammar School where he met James Ballantyne who later became his business partner and printed his books.[2] Scott began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of only twelve so that he was a year or so younger than most of his fellow students. In March 1786 he began an apprenticeship in his father's office, to become a Writer to the Signet.

While at the university Scott had become a friend of Adam Ferguson, the son of Professor Adam Ferguson who hosted literary salons. Scott met the blind poet Thomas Blacklock who lent him books as well as introducing him to James Macpherson's Ossian cyle of poems. During the winter of 1786-87 the fifteen year old Scott saw Robert Burns at one of these salons, for what was to be their only meeting. When Burns noticed a print illustrating the poem "The Justice of the Peace" and asked who had written the poem, only Scott could tell him it was by John Langhorne, and was thanked by Burns.[3] When it was decided that he would become a lawyer he returned to the university to study law, first taking classes in Moral Philosophy and Universal History in 1789-90.[2] After completing his studies in law, he became a lawyer in Edinburgh. As a lawyer's clerk he made his first visit to the Scottish Highlands directing an eviction. He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1792. He had an unsuccessful love suit with Williamina Belsches of Fettercairn, who married Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet.

Literary career launched Scott's childhood at Sandyknowes, close to Smailholm Tower, introduced him to tales of the Scottish Borders. At the age of 25 he began dabbling in writing, translating works from German, his first publication being rhymed versions of ballads by Bürger in 1796. He then published a three-volume set of collected Scottish ballads, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. This was the first sign of his interest in Scottish history from a literary standpoint. Scott then became an ardent volunteer in the yeomanry and on one of his "raids" he met at Gilsland Spa Margaret Charlotte Charpentier (or Charpenter), daughter of Jean Charpentier of Lyon in France whom he married in 1797. They had five children. In 1799 he was appointed Sheriff-Deputy of the County of Selkirk, based in the Royal Burgh of Selkirk. In his earlier married days, Scott had a decent living from his earnings at the law, his salary as Sheriff-Deputy, his wife's income, some revenue from his writing, and his share of his father's rather meagre estate.

After Scott had founded a printing press, his poetry, beginning with The Lay of the Last Minstrel in 1805, brought him fame. He published a number of other poems over the next ten years, including the popular The Lady of the Lake, printed in 1810 and set in the Trossachs. Portions of the German translation of this work were later set to music by Franz Schubert. One of these songs, Ellens dritter Gesang, is popularly labeled as "Schubert's Ave Maria". Another work from this period, Marmion, produced some of his most quoted (and most often mis-attributed) lines. Canto VI. Stanza 17 reads: Yet Clare's sharp questions must I shun, Must separate Constance from the nun Oh! what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive! A Palmer too! No wonder why I felt rebuked beneath his eye; In 1809 his Tory sympathies led him to become a co-founder of the Quarterly Review, a review journal to which he made several anonymous contributions.

The novels Walter Scott When the press became embroiled in pecuniary difficulties, Scott set out, in 1814, to write a cash-cow. The result was Waverley, a novel which did not name its author. It was a tale of the "Forty-Five" Jacobite rising in the Kingdom of Great Britain with its English protagonist Edward Waverley, by his Tory upbringing sympathetic to Jacobitism, becoming enmeshed in events but eventually choosing Hanoverian respectability. The novel met with considerable success. There followed a succession of novels over the next five years, each with a Scottish historical setting. Mindful of his reputation as a poet, he maintained the anonymous habit he had begun with Waverley, always publishing the novels under the name Author of Waverley or attributed as "Tales of..." with no author. Even when it was clear that there would be no harm in coming out into the open he maintained the façade, apparently out of a sense of fun. During this time the nickname The Wizard of the North was popularly applied to the mysterious best-selling writer.

His identity as the author of the novels was widely rumoured, and in 1815 Scott was given the honour of dining with George, Prince Regent, who wanted to meet "the author of Waverley". In 1819 he broke away from writing about Scotland with Ivanhoe, a historical romance set in 12th-century England. It too was a runaway success and, as he did with his first novel, he wrote several books along the same lines. Among other things, the book is noteworthy for having a very sympathetic Jewish major character, Rebecca, considered by many critics to be the book's real heroine - relevant to the fact that the book was published at a time when the struggle for the Emancipation of the Jews in England was gathering momentum. As his fame grew during this phase of his career, he was granted the title of baronet, becoming Sir Walter Scott. At this time he organized the visit of King George IV to Scotland, and when the King visited Edinburgh in 1822 the spectacular pageantry Scott had concocted to portray George as a rather tubby reincarnation of Bonnie Prince Charlie made tartans and kilts fashionable and turned them into symbols of Scottish national identity.

Scott included little in the way of punctuation in his drafts which he left to the printers to supply.[4] Financial woes Beginning in 1825 he went into dire financial straits again, as his company nearly collapsed. That he was the author of his novels became general knowledge at this time as well. Rather than declare bankruptcy he placed his home, Abbotsford House, and income into a trust belonging to his creditors, and proceeded to write his way out of debt. He kept up his prodigious output of fiction (as well as producing a biography of Napoléon Bonaparte) until 1831. By then his health was failing, and he died at Abbotsford in 1832. Though not in the clear by then, his novels continued to sell, and he made good his debts from beyond the grave. He was buried in Dryburgh Abbey where nearby, fittingly, a large statue can be found of William Wallace—one of Scotland's most romantic historical figures. His home, Abbotsford House Displays of armour at Abbotsford House When Sir Walter Scott was a boy he sometimes travelled with his father from Selkirk to Melrose, in the Border Country where some of his novels are set.

At a certain spot the old gentleman would stop the carriage and take his son to a stone on the site of the battle of Melrose (1526). Not far away was a little farm called Cartleyhole, and this he eventually purchased. In due course the farmhouse developed into a wonderful home that has been likened to a fairy palace. Through windows enriched with the insignia of heraldry the sun shone on suits of armour, trophies of the chase, fine furniture, and still finer pictures. Panelling of oak and cedar and carved ceilings relieved by coats of arms in their correct colour added to the beauty of the house. More land was purchased, until Scott owned nearly 1,000 acres (4 km²), and it is estimated that the building cost him over £25,000. A neighbouring Roman road with a ford used in olden days by the abbots of Melrose suggested the name of Abbotsford. Assessment The Scott Monument, Edinburgh Alternate View Among the early critics of Scott was Mark Twain, who blamed Scott's "romantacization of battle" for the South's decision to fight the Civil War.

Twain's ridiculing of chivalry in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is considered as specifically targeting Scott's books. From being one of the most popular novelists of the 19th century, Scott suffered from a disastrous decline in popularity after the First World War. The tone was set early on in E.M. Forster's classic "Aspects of the Novel" (1927), where Scott was savaged as being a clumsy writer who wrote slapdash, badly plotted novels. Scott also suffered from the rising star of Jane Austen. Considered merely an entertaining "woman's novelist" in the 19th century, in the 20th Austen began to be seen as perhaps the major English novelist of the first few decades of the 19th century. As Austen's star rose, Scott's sank, although, ironically, he had been one of the few male writers of his time to recognize Austen's genius. Scott's many flaws (ponderousness, prolixity, lack of humor) were fundamentally out of step with Modernist sensibilities. Nevertheless, Scott was responsible for two major trends that carry on to this day.

First, he essentially invented the modern historical novel; an enormous number of imitators (and imitators of imitators) would appear in the 19th century. It is a measure of Scott's influence that Edinburgh's central railway station, opened in 1854 for the North British Railway, is called Waverley Station. Second, his Scottish novels followed on from James Macpherson's Ossian cycle in rehabilitating the public perception of Highland culture after years in the shadows following southern distrust of hill bandits and the Jacobite rebellions. As enthusiastic chairman of the Celtic Society of Edinburgh he contributed to the reinvention of Scottish culture. It is worth noting, however, that Scott was a Lowland Scot, and that his re-creations of the Highlands were more than a little fanciful. His organisation of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 was a pivotal event, leading Edinburgh tailors to invent many "clan tartans" out of whole cloth, so to speak. After being essentially unstudied for many decades, a small revival of interest in Scott's work began in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ironically, postmodern tastes (which favoured discontinuous narratives, and the introduction of the 'first person' into works of fiction) were more favourable to Scott's work than Modernist tastes. Despite all the flaws, Scott is now seen as an important innovator, and a key figure in the development of Scottish and world literature. Scott was also responsible, through a series of pseudonymous letters published in the Edinburgh Weekly News in 1826, for retaining the right of Scottish banks to issue their own banknotes, which is reflected to this day by his continued appearance on the front of all notes issued by the Bank of Scotland. Many of his works were illustrated by his friend, William Allan. In addition to Landseer, fine portraits of him were painted by fellow-Scots Sir Henry Raeburn and James Eckford Lauder. Sir Walter Scott is commemorated in Makars' Court, outside The Writers' Museum, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh. Selections for Makars' Court are made by The Writers' Museum; The Saltire Society; The Scottish Poetry Library.

Works Waverley Station to mark Scott novel’s bicentenary - The Scotsman Heroes Waverley Station to mark Scott novel’s bicentenary Passengers arriving at Waverley station in Edinburgh will receive a free handbook on the life and works of Sir Walter Scott. Picture: Ian Georgeson MARTYN McLAUGHLIN Have your say IT IS the novel that gave Edinburgh’s largest rail station its name and now looks set to inspire weary commuters with a few well chosen quotations. From today travellers passing through the capital’s Waverley Station will be greeted with a series of celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the famous Scottish novel from which it took its name. The station will pay tribute to Waverley, one of Sir Walter Scott’s most celebrated works, which tells of a young, aristocratic English soldier caught up in the Jacobite rising of 1745. Quotes from the novel will be written across the floors, windows and walkways of the station in the hope of “bringing Scott’s words alive for a new audience”. Tens of thousands of passengers arriving and disembarking will also be given a free pocket book telling the story of Scott’s life and offering tourists the opportunity to follow in his footsteps in and around the city.

Those behind the event said it would help rehabilitate the 1814 novel, published anonymously by Scott. Whereas some of his contemporaries regarded him as the equivalent of Shakespeare, he has fallen out of favour in recent decades, owing to a perception that his prose is archaic and overblown. The Great Scott! event, a collaboration between Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust and Network Rail, aims to recognise the “wit and wisdom” of Scott and Waverley, considered the world’s first historical novel. Dr Douglas McNaughton, campaign manager for Great Scott!, believes Waverley was the equivalent of an “action movie” ahead of its time and a work that influenced numerous popular writers, such as George RR Martin, the author of the best-selling Game of Thrones series. He explained: “By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin. “Waverley isn’t a boring, dusty old story – it’s essentially an action movie.

The naïve young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That’s basically the plot of Star Wars. “Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott’s readers as the Second World War is to us now.” Quotes from the book to be written in and around Waverley Station include lines such as “O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive!” and “In literature as in love, courage is half the battle”. For Juliet Donnachie, Network Rail’s station manager at Waverley, the only railway station in the world named after a novel, it is a fitting tribute. She said: “I like to think Waverley station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it’s appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland’s capital acknowledges his influence.” The Waverley celebrations form part of a series of events to mark the anniversary of Scott’s book.

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is promoting the author’s legacy in its Once Upon a Place programme, from 24 October to 2 November, while the National Library of Scotland is hosting a display of Scott’s work, including the original manuscript of Waverley. Not so much a title, more a branding concept WAVERLEY station. Waverley Bridge. Waverley Steps. Waverley Bar. Waverley Road, Melrose. Waverley Avenue, Twickenham. Waverley Street, Glasgow, Nottingham or York. Waverley, Alabama; Waverley, Tennessee; Waverley, Iowa. The Waverley camisole. The Waverley ice-cream cone. Lambert and Butler’s Waverley mix cigarette. “They came as a boon and a blessing to men / The Pickwick, The Owl and the Waverley Pen”. It’s hard to believe that 200 years ago Waverley was just a town near Godalming and a newly published novel by an anonymous author. Sir Walter Scott’s debut novel didn’t just give its name to his whole series of fictions. Waverley was a brand before the idea of brands existed.

Ironically, Scott chose the name, as he tells us on the first page of that novel, because it carried no connotations (though it has to be said the hero, Edward Waverley does waver and haver throughout). It is fashionable to look down on Scott, given his novels have few heroin addicts or boy wizards, but without his innovations the scope of the novel would be vastly diminished. Waverley is about crossing borders and changing your mind. It’s about ambiguity and sincerity, hope and hopelessness, modernity and tradition. In other words, it is the perfect post-independence referendum novel. STUART KELLY Forthcoming Scott Events ‘Poetic Justice: Legal, Ethical, and Aesthetic Judgments in Literary Texts’, 13th International Connotations Symposium, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 26-30 July 2015 1.

'Great Scott!: Celebrating Sir Walter Scott', Waverley Station, Edinburgh, from 14 October 2014 The 'Great Scott' campaign, developed by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust , aims not only to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Waverley , but also to mark the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh’s designation as the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. It is based in Edinburgh's Waverley Station, the only railway station in the world named after a book. In a collaboration with Network Rail , quotations from Scott’s writings will be written across the floors, windows and walkways of the station bringing Scott’s words alive for a new audience. As part of the campaign, 25,000 copies of a free book, Great Scott!, will be given away in the station. Telling the story of Scott’s life, it includes a timeline, quotes, and musings, and gives tips on things to see, read, and do relating to Scott. The book is also available for download, in audio form, and as an ebook in many formats.

The campaign website aims to be a 'virtual train ticket' to all that Scott contributed to Edinburgh, the Borders, the Scottish nation, and world literature in general. New content will be added daily, including trails, videos, quotes and 'did you knows'. Back to top 2. 'By the Author of Waverley: Early editions from the Sir Walter Scott Collection', Exhibition, Reed Gallery, Dunedin Public Libraries, Dunedin, New Zealand, until 14 June 2015 Dunedin Public Libraries are marking the bicentenary of Waverley by mounting an exhibition of rare items from their Sir Walter Scott Collection in the Reed Gallery . This collection has its origins in a 1948 donation by Dunedin-born scholar and benefactor Esmond de Beer. The exhibition features a chronological sequence of almost entirely first editions of Scott’s prolific output as a novelist, including Waverley, Rob Roy , and Ivanhoe . First and early editions of Scott’s poetry including The Lay of the Last Minstrel , Marmion , and The Lady of the Lake are also prominently featured, complemented by dramatic works, autograph letters, and illustrative matter from Victorian era publications relating to the life and works of Scott.

Exhibition Site (with digital gallery of exhibits) 3. ‘A Great Many Trophies: Scott's Visit to Waterloo’, Talk by Dr Paul O'Keeffe, Abbotsford Library, Abbotsford House, Melrose, 12 May 2015 On 9 August 1815, seven weeks after the Battle of Waterloo, Walter Scott was among the first tourists to visit the scene, collecting 'a great many trophies, from cuirasses down to buttons and bullets.' Join Dr Paul O'Keeffe talking about his acclaimed recent book, Waterloo the Aftermath, and his newly published edition of Scott' writings about the battle, Scott on Waterloo. Further Details 4.

'Reading Waverley', talk by Jenni Calder, Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club, 14 May 2015 Among many other publications, Jenni Calder is author of RLS: A Life Study (1980), The Nine Lives of Naomi Mitchison (1997), Scots in Canada (2003), Scots in the USA (2006), and Frontier Scots: The Scots Who Won the West (2010); she has also edited works such as The Robert Louis Stevenson Companion (1980) and The Enterprising Scot (1986). Details from Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club . 5. Bird Song and Binoculars Walk, Abbotsford House, Melrose, 17 May 2015 Join a late spring walk, led by expert ornithologist, Andrew Bramhall, around the designed landscape created by Walter Scott to identify birds by song and by sight. Scott delighted in the birdlife that was attracted by the improvements he made to the Abbotsford estate, and wrote in 1826 ‘I may congratulate myself on having literally made the desert sing’.

From woodpeckers and nuthatches in the woodland to buzzards circling over the meadow and wildfowl in the Tweed, visitors will be encouraged to bring their binoculars and get involved. A part of Borders Nature Festival and the Year of Food and Drink . Suitable for all ages, booking essential. Not wheelchair accessible. Further Details 6. ‘A Monument to Poetry and Whimsy: Painting Scott's Vision’, Workshop, Abbotsford House, Melrose, 23 May 2015 Visualise Scott's love of landscape, nature and architecture through a day of drawing and watercolour inspired by his writings with Amanda Phillips. Further Details 7.

'L'Engagement', 55th Conference of the Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur (SAES), Université de Toulon, France, 4-6 June 2015 The 55th Conference of the Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur (SAES) at Toulon University , will feature two papers of particular Scott interest: 'L’Engagement paradoxal scottien, ou, Comment réconcilier l’irréconciliable' by Céline Sabiron (Lorraine) and 'Aymé Verd, parodie d’un auteur français du roman Quentin Durward de Walter Scott' by Jean Berton (Toulouse II). Programme 8. 'Sir Walter Scott in Schools', One-Day Conference, MacKenzie Building, Edinburgh, 6 June 2015 Further Details 9. 'Sir Walter's Trip to the Battlefield of Waterloo', talk by the Hon.

Lord Woolman, Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club, 19 June 2015 Scott's trip to the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815 is related in his Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk and inspired his poem The Field of Waterloo . The Hon. Lord Stephen Woolman is a Senator of the College of Justice and a former keeper of the Advocates' Library . Details from Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club . 10. 'Romanticism, Reaction and Revolution: British Views on Spain, 1814-1823', International Conference, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, 25-26 June 2015 The year 1814 put an end to the Peninsular War in Spain. A six-year period followed during which an authoritarian Ferdinand VII ruled, in an era of great hostility towards liberal ideas. Triggered by Riego’s revolutionary coup, three years of tumultuous liberal and radical government ensued. This was of great concern to the conservative European powers (Britain among them), who eventually agreed to intervene in Spain by sending a French army.

By the end of 1823, the old absolutist order had been restored in Spain, and the subsequent months saw the end of Spanish rule in continental America. In Britain as elsewhere in Europe, Romanticism was still in full production during those years. The ‘second generation’ poets, together with novelists like Mary Shelley, Jane Austen and Walter Scott, published much of their best work in this period, which also inspired a substantial part of Constable’s and Turner’s paintings. Many of these British artists and intellectuals were aware of what was going on in Southern and Eastern Europe, where authoritarian regimes were facing a number of consecutive and related revolutionary movements. This included Spain, whose image in Britain had been constantly shifting for two decades --from foe to friend, heroic to backward, war-winner to peace-loser, revolutionary to reactionary and back to revolutionary.

In accordance with the research objectives of Anglo-Hispanic Horizons, papers were invited addressing the following topics: British (female) views of Spanish (female) myths British (non)interventionist policies in (ex-)Spanish America British (non) interventionist policies in Spain British abolitionist policies on slavery in Spain and (ex-)Spanish America British responses to Spanish exiles in London British diplomats and representatives in Spain British official reports on Spain (FO, WO, Parliamentary Papers...) British soldiers, adventurers and voluntaries in Spain British studies of Spanish language, literature and culture British travellers in Spain and their accounts (travelogues, guides....) Spain and the Spaniards in British painting and other visual arts Spain and the Spaniards in British political caricature Spain and the Spaniards in English gay writing (LGBT) Spain and the Spaniards in English romantic drama Spain and the Spaniards in English romantic fiction Spain and the Spaniards in English romantic poetry Spain and the Spaniards in English women's writing Spain and the Spaniards in the English general-interest press (dailies, weeklies, yearbooks...) Spain and the Spaniards in the English themed press (literary journals, art magazines...) Spanish art market and art collections in Britain Spanish fashion in Britain Spanish

 music and dance in Britain Spanish orientalism in British literature and art Spanish translations into English, literary and artistic Spanish translations into English, political and social The London Spanish Committee Conference Site 12.

'Romantic Imprints', 14th International Conference of the British Association for Romantic Studies, Cardiff University, 16-19 July 2015 The 2015 International Conference of the British Association for Romantic Studies (BARS) is hosted by the School of English, Communication & Philosophy and the Centre for Editorial and Intertextual Research at Cardiff University , Wales. The theme of the interdisciplinary conference is Romantic Imprints, broadly understood to include the various literary, cultural, historical and political manifestations of Romantic print culture across Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world. The focus will fall on the ways in which the culture of the period was conscious of itself as functioning within and through, or as opposed to, the medium of print. The conference location in the Welsh capital provides a special opportunity to foreground the Welsh inflections of Romanticism within the remit of the conference’s wider theme. The two-hundredth anniversary of Waterloo also brings with it the chance of thinking about how Waterloo was represented within and beyond print. Confirmed keynote speakers are John Barrell (Queen Mary, London), James Chandler (Chicago), Claire Connolly (Cork), Peter Garside (Edinburgh) and Devoney Looser (Arizona State).

Among many panels of potential Scott interest is Editing Walter Scott’s Poetry led by Alison Lumsden and Ainsley McIntosh from Aberdeen University's Walter Scott Research Centre . Call for Papers 13. ‘Poetic Justice: Legal, Ethical, and Aesthetic Judgments in Literary Texts’, 13th International Connotations Symposium, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 26-30 July 2015 The 13th International Connotations Symposium, hosted by Tübingen University , features a paper by H. Michael Buck (Indiana Wesleyan University) on 'Poetic Justice and the Resolution of Walter Scott’s The Heart of Midlothian', which will focus specifically on widely criticized ending to Scott’s novel . Dr Buck has recently co-authored two articles on Scott with Prof. Peter Garside; see Buck and Garside 2010 and Buck and Garside 2013 .

Question: Which British city has a railway station named after a series of novels written by Sir Walter Scott?
Answer: EDINBURGH